BRISTOL, Fla. (WMBB) – This week’s Scholar Athlete of the Week sponsored by Perry and Young P.A. is Liberty County’s Elizabeth “Sister” Arnold.

Arnold is one of the top high school softball players in the Panhandle while also being near the top of her senior class academically.

“My parents have always pushed me to make good grades, and I’m competitive, so I don’t like not being the best,” Arnold said. “So, it’s always been a big deal to me to try to make the best grades in the class.”

Arnold holds a 3.9 GPA and is heavily involved in her church and community, but Liberty County Head Softball Coach Jennifer Sewell said that she is also one of the most competitive athletes she’s met.

“She’s a gamer,” Sewell said. “And she always wants to, it don’t matter if you’re playing Rock-Paper-Scissors or racing or whatever, she wants to win, she hates losing.”

Arnold spent her first two years of high school at Sneads, where she was mentored by now Florida State softball star, Michaela Edenfield.

“She kind of took me under her wing,” Arnold said. “And just seeing how she played, she always played harder than everybody else. And I knew that’s how I wanted to be.”

In her junior year, Arnold transferred to Liberty County where she helped lead the bulldogs to the Class 1A State Semifinal.

In the first half of her senior year, Arnold was sidelined from all sports with a torn labrum. She spent a good deal of time in a physical therapy office which is now her career route of choice.

“I’ve talked to them about what they do, and they tell me that the best thing ever is when you’re able to help somebody that like lost the ability to talk and you’re able to help them do that better or, like, walk again.”

Arnold plans to earn her A.A. degree at Northwest Florida State where she also signed to continue her career in softball.

“I’ve always dreamed of playing college softball, and now that it’s here, it’s kind of surreal because you look forward to this your whole life, and now it’s just a few months away,” Arnold said.

While going the junior college route, Coach Sewell believes the game of softball will take Arnold much farther than two years in Niceville.

“She’ll play two years there and continue on,” Sewell said. “She’s a great athlete that can do that and go play for four more years. They’re very blessed to have her. She’s one of those special kids you wish you had more of.”